Vote NO to the EU Treaty

EU Constitution treaty: 10-point summary. The EU Constitution will...

1. ...change the status of the EU from a treaty-based agreement between countries to a supra-national entity based on its own Constitution (Article I-1); give the EU legal personality to make legal agreements in its own right (Article I-7) and formally establish the primacy of EU laws over those of national governments (Article I-6). The EU's commitment to promoting "economic, social and territorial cohesion" (Cohesion: "the act of forming a united whole") is reaffirmed (Article I-3). If ratified, this Constitution will be the foundation of a centralised EU State;

2. ...create a full-time EU President (Article I-22) who will be a considerably more powerful figure than the existing rotating Council president yet will not be directly elected by voters or even the European Parliament;

3. ...give the EU the power to 'define and implement' a common foreign and defence policy (Article I-12), which will "cover all areas of foreign policy" and which member states will be required to "actively and unreservedly support in a spirit of loyalty and mutual solidarity" (Article I-16). An EU Foreign Minister will also be created, responsible for conducting the "common foreign and security policy" (Article I-28).

4. ...remove our elected government's right to make laws unless the EU decides not to in a vaguely-worded list covering almost all areas (Article I-14). Areas include the internal market, social policy, agriculture and fisheries, environment, consumer protection, transport, energy, 'freedom, security and justice', and 'common safety concerns in public health matters';

5. ...give the EU the power to take 'supporting, co-ordinating or complementary action' in a further range of vaguely-defined areas including the 'protection and improvement of human health', industry, culture, education, youth, sport, vocational training, 'civil protection' and 'administrative co-operation' (Article I-17);

6. ...give the EU new powers to 'co-ordinate' economic, employment and social policies (Article I-15). Article III-210 lists the almost unlimited areas of social policy where the EU will have the right to 'support and complement' the activities of member states. Even the Treasury has commented "Many of the issues being considered in the EU Convention [which drew up the EU Constitution] could have far-reaching consequences for the future performance of EU economies, whether they are part of the euro area or not." (HM Treasury assessment of the five euro tests, 9th June 2003). Article III-147 will allow the EU to enforce the 'liberalisation' of an area of economic activity, from which the EU has already confirmed public services like health, education and social services cannot be excluded (report: EUobserver).

7. ...abolish the national veto in almost all areas, so that Britain can be increasingly out-voted by other countries on new EU laws. This will cost us crucial influence in the EU Council of Ministers. Influence is based on power - without the power to veto EU laws, we can make our views about them known but there is no reason why they should be taken into account.

8. ...allow movement towards an EU criminal justice system on the continental model, which doesn't have juries or habeas corpus (the right to be brought before a judge to have your detention legally and publicly justified), through harmonisation of national laws and mutual recognition of judicial and extra-judicial decisions (Article I-42) and the power to set common definitions of criminal offences and sanctions (Article III-271). The role of Eurojust is strengthened from 'co-ordination' of criminal prosecutions to also include their "initiation" and the extension of Eurojust's "structure, operation, field of action and tasks" is permitted (Article III-273). An EU Public Prosecutor's Office is proposed (Article III-274). The EU would also be given the right to extend the powers of its rapidly-expanding police force, Europol (Article III-276), which enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution.

9. ...include the EU's 'Charter of Fundamental Rights' as Part II, giving it full legal force, including Article II-112 which sinisterly allows "limitations" of basic rights "if they are necessary and genuinely meet objectives of general interest recognised by the Union". Article II-114 forbids any political campaigning to reverse any aspects of the Charter. This is the document which former Europe Minister Keith Vaz said would have 'no more significance than the Beano' and which, just three years ago, the Government claimed to be completely opposed to giving legal force.

10. ...give all these new powers to the EU while setting in stone the EU's current undemocratic structure. The un-elected European Commission will keep the sole right to propose new EU laws (Article I-26). The European Central Bank will stay politically unaccountable through a commitment by all MEPs, EU officials and national governments "not to seek to influence the...European Central Bank" (Article III-188). With increased use of Qualified Majority Voting in the Council of Ministers, the chances of being out-voted on EU laws and their being imposed on Britain regardless of whether our government, Parliament and people all oppose them will increase.

Far from a 'tidying up exercise' of existing treaties and powers as the government claims, these changes add up to a fundamental change in the nature of the EU and a significant increase in the centralisation of decision-making power with an undemocratic elite in Brussels.

As the architect of the EU Constitution himself has said: "Our constitution cannot be reduced to a mere treaty for co-operation between governments. Anyone who has not yet grasped this fact deserves to wear the dunce's cap" Valery Giscard-d'Estaing - President of the EU Convention - Speech in Aachen accepting the Charlemagne Prize for European integration, 29th May 2003

Edward Heathcoat Amery: "The new treaty and the old one are both 63,000 words long. 96% of the content is the same"

Government Scrutiny Committee: "The Governments opt-outs do not stand up to even cursory scrutiny".

Michael Connarty (Labour chairman): "Its exactly the same apart from no songs and no symbols"

------------------------
Democracy Movement, Kershaw House, 449 Great West Road, Hounslow, TW5 0BU, T: 020 8570 5681, F: 020 8570 5213
E: mail@democracymovement.org.uk
-----------------------

Download a copy of 10-point summary leaflet, or order copies of any of our free EU Constitution campaign materials at our EU Constitution campaign mini-site: http://www.democracymovement.org.uk/constitution

Readers comments: Vote NO on the constitution Send me more comments please to eric@satsig.net for publication here.

Commissioner admits EU is project for a "small elite".	News about Europe	EU red tape costs UK economy 30 billion pounds
European Evidence Warrant	EU Watchdog - UK rebate	Latest news on the UK rebate

Back to Vote No and stop the traitors - EU treaty referendum Forward to some common sense: Open Europe